Hosts and reigning champions Rwanda kicked-off the defence of their Sitball Volleyball World Championships title with three wins out of four matches played on Day 1 yesterday at the National Paralympic Committee gymnasium and Amahoro indoor stadium courts in Remera.
The home team, cheered on by a sizable crowd, beat Kenya 37-13, lost to pre-tournament favourites Germany 28-30 in the second, then beat Democratic Republic of Congo 42-15 in the third match before crowning the day with a convincing 37-12 win over the 2010 hosts, Uganda.
Against, Kenya, Rwanda started well, finishing with a score of 20-5 points in the opening seven minutes of first half before sealing the win with 17-8 points in the second half.
In the second match, the hosts went down against European giants Germany in a tight match that pitted two of the best teams in the competition.
In the first half, Rwanda lost 18-12, in second half they tried to recover and scored 16 points but wasn’t enough as the two-time champions Germany scored 12 points to seal the tie 28-30.
The game was by far the most entertaining of the first as both sides came out to show why they share the three world titles between them since the first world championships was first held. This is the fourth edition.
Germany, who won the first two editions before Rwanda dethroned them in Kampala in 2010, looked the more experienced side forcing Rwandan players to make five costly mistakes of touching the net, which is not allowed.
Rwanda recovered well to thump DR Congo 42-15 in the third game, Rwanda scored 21 points in either half. In fourth game, the champions dominated Uganda in first half with a 17-5 points score before bettering it in the second half to 20 points against 7 for their opponents.
Germany and Switzerland are the only teams with a perfect record, albeit having played less matches going into the second and final day of the 2013 world championships on Sunday. Rwanda, Germany, and the Swiss all have six points; Burundi has four, while Kenya, DRC and Uganda have zero points.
The New Times
